Shadow of Betrayal (a Ninja Assassin fanfic)
by Willowstar157
Summary: Celeste is an average Canadian teenager. Except for the fact she can cross the dimensional rift alive. And the fact America is out to get her and her gang. And the fact that she's a Ninja Assassin apprentice. When one BFF betrays them, the whole gang starts doubting themselves. To make matters worse, inside arguments are breaking out. Can she save them all, or will it be too late?
1. Prologue

**A/N: Ok, this thing is FINALLY DONE! I've been writing this for probably two whole weeks! Not kidding! All the main OC's in this are each made separately by me and my friends, one each, and Celeste is me, so I hope you like her! Everyone else I plan on actually introducing around chapter 7-ish, but some are mentioned in this specifically! I will say this now, and at certain points throughout this prologue, but it goes for THE ENTIRE STORY! I am Canadian, I have NOTHING AGAINST AMERICA! And sorry if I get the FBI/CIA messed up, I never did my research xD. As well as anything else you may find offensive, it's Celeste with a grudge against them, NOT ME! I cannot stress that enough! But ya, hope you guys enjoy this, I'm having a lot of fun writing it, and see ya when I next update something! Probly Celestial Wings, but whichever! n.n**

I blinked my eyes open, wincing in pain. My arms had seriously lacked blood flow for days... Or was it weeks? In a dark, stinking cell, it was crazy how one's sense of time got jumbled up. For all my exhausted brain knew, I could've been in this cell for years. The people here were treating me like a lab rat, and they were insane. I was always hearing words like 'time-travel,' and it sent shivers down my spine. I didn't want to be a human lab rat, and yet, that seemed like the exact reason I was here. I was going to be the first person to cross the dimensional rift, and chance of survival was probably between 0.00001 and 0.0001.

I didn't want to die! I was only eighteen years old, and nobody knew where I was! One night, some guys had broken into my room through the window and practically stabbed me with a large dose sedative, I never even had time to scream for help. The only reason I was going along with these people's plans was because they showed me they knew exactly where all my friends lived, and they threatened to bring them all here and use their DNA... I didn't even want to think about how they would get it.

'Kestrel... Lyssa... Gale... Everyone... Heck, even Eos... Please, let them all be safe...' I thought desperately. I had an issue with extremely large heights, sure, but probably the one thing I never let on was that my biggest fear was loosing the people I care most about... I know everyone has their time, and I get that. I'm fine, as much as you could be at least, if it's a peaceful, painless death when your sleeping. It's when people die in car accidents, or murder, suicide... It's that kind of stuff that breaks me. Or freaking torture, like what I was going through now.

Just then, the door flew open and another scientist came in, carrying a tray of food. Here we go again... This stuff is poison, not food, I swear.

"Eat up." He said a lot more gently then anybody else, . I winced as he said that, already dreading having to eat the food. The first time I had it, I passed out. It burns my throat, makes my eyes bleary, and just flat out wants to make me vomit. However something tells me that's exactly what they want.

"Big day for you." The scientist said suddenly, making me look up at him suprisedly through gagged mouthfuls. He saw my expression and shrugged."You either get to go home, or..." He paused, letting the or hang in the air for a moment, before visibly shivering.

"W-what do you mean..?" I asked with my now weak voice.

"You don't know?" He asked, and I shook my head, pushing away the plate off food. Something about him made me feel relaxed to the point I didn't have to eat the stuff. He looked at me with understanding.

"It's not good, is it?" He asked, a smirk forming on his lips. I shook my head vigorously.

"It takes like poisoned death, to be honest." I said, making a face. He laughed, probably at my expression.

"That's true... But, getting back on track, you really don't know why you're here..?" He asked, resuming his air of seriousness. Slowly, he walked up to me and knelt down, pulling out some bread from his back pocket which I quickly took, mumbling a 'thank you' through a stuffed mouth before shaking my head.

"I've picked up on things like time travel, but... Is that really possible? I mean, if it were, surely one of the secret agencies would have discovered it by now." I felt a sudden wave of fear come over me when I saw his face drop. "That's not... Why I'm here, surely..?" I asked slowly, unable to keep my voice steady.

"In a sense, it's not exactly like time travel... It is, I think, but from the information I'm being trusted with, your going to be the first living creature to cross the dimensional rift... Chances of survival, almost nothing." He said solemnly, and I did an odd chewed bread spit-take, coughing as I banged my chest in an attempt to dislodge the food that had suddenly stopped.

"W-WHAT?!" I shouted, and he quickly shoved a hand over my mouth.

"Shut it! If your heard and they find out I'm telling you this, my cover will be blown!" He whispered, and I nodded in understanding. As he say back, I couldn't help but ask, my heart still racing;

"Our cover? What do you mean?"

"I'm not actually a scientist." He began. "I'm an undercover agent working for the CIA, this is Area 51, and you're being used as they're human guinea pig. You've heard about Area 51, right?" He asked, and I nodded hesitantly.

"They're the top-security FBI facility that research anything related to Extra Terrestrial life and the different worlds..?" He nodded, giving me a small smile of approval.

"You've been here for several weeks, disappearing without a trace one night. Your family and friends went into a panic, searching high and low for you." I felt a stab of guilt when he said that. 'Searching high and low... I didn't want to cause so much trouble for them...'

"If you don't mind me asking... What's your name?" I spoke through gritted teeth, a wave of anger coming over me. "These FBI people have no right to kidnap me... I'm not even American... I'm Canadian!' My hands instinctively clenched into weak fists, and he gave me another small smile.

"The government hasn't exactly been resting the past few weeks looking for you, you know. We've been threatening the FBI relentlessly. They don't even have a right to you, being Canadian." He said it with such a straight face I thought for sure he had read my mind. "Though, we can't do much... The FBI is heavily guarded, and backed up by the American government. We'd risk war with our closest trading partner... You know how that would turn out for both our countries." He said, looking into my eyes. I nodded in understanding. War itself is bad, but if it's America vs Canada... We're like that in hockey terms, and it's created a large enough rift between the two of us already.

"Oh, and my name's Kevin." He added sheepishly, and I wanted to laugh. His grin was so goofy.

"Nice to meet you, Kevin. Name's -" I started, but he cut me off with a smile.

"Celeste. Remember? I'm here to break you out. I should hope my contact informed me with your name at least."

"Alright, wise guy. If you know so much about me, how old am I?" I asked him cockily.

"Eighteen."

"Birthday?"

"July seventeenth, nineteen ninety-six."

"What was the name and species of my first pet?"

"A goldfish named Goldie. Real unique, by the way." He added sarcastically. I stared at him, dumbfounded.

"What was the first horse I rode?"

"Stormy. A Shetland gelding, probably ten hands. He was sweet and caring, but had an attitude when you tried to strap the girth." He chuckled. "Have I proven my point yet?"

"How old was I when I became an equestrian?"

"Four." He sighed exasperatedly. "Can we go now, before people become suspicious? I doubt anyone else that brought you food stayed as long as I am now." I stared at him in disbelief. This guy was a freakin' stalker! He grabbed my shoulders, forcing me out of my daze.

"Right, ya, sorry.. Just who is your contact that knows oh so much about me?" I half asked half demanded an answer. I wanted to know just who knew me that well.

"Your mother." He said quickly, grabbing my wrist and pulling me up. My legs wobbled, giving way underneath me and Kevin grabbed ahold of me, tightly hugging me against his chest.

"Can you walk?" He asked, his attention suddenly diverted from escape and onto my physique.

"I... I Don't think I can." I said, worry suddenly coming over me. If I couldn't walk, or run by myself, how were we supposed to get out, dead or alive? These stupid idiot American spies... **(A/N: I have nothing against America, though Celeste, understandably I hope, does. No offense meant, please! :o)** Why couldn't they just let me be? I'm a perfectly normal Canadian teenage girl! "What should we do?"

"Here." He said, flatly hoisting me onto his back.

"What are you doing..?" I asked hesitantly, a little surprised by his sudden movement.

"Escaping." He grunted. "You know, you're heavier then you look."

"Well sorry if I haven't exactly been able to exercise the past few weeks." I said sarcastically. "I've been kind of stuck in a dinky cell." I added, and got a small laugh out of him.

"True enough. Hold on tight." He said, and started sprinting through the halls. It wasn't long before the alarms went off, and bright red lights started flashing.

"Damnit..." I heard Kevin faintly mutter under his breath, and a realization hit me. If Canada and America weren't on friendly terms because of me, what would they do to us if we were caught? I'm not entirely sure I wanted to know the answer to that. I forced my arms around him tighter, a shiver running down my spine.

"We gotta hurry."

"No duh!" I shouted, and he paused for a second to throw a hand over my mouth.

"Quiet!" He hushed, cupping a hand around his ear in a sign to listen.

"Footsteps..." I whispered, fear coursing through me.

"And lots of them." He tossed me around a corner like I was a sack of potatoes. "I don't care how you do it, just get away from here. You're special, Celeste, and I'm not just saying that. You and all of your friends. Don't give anybody any names, and warn them all. Keep an eye out, Celeste. The FBI are relentless. They'll do anything to get you back." He said gently, grabbing my shoulder and giving me an encouraging shove.

"You have as much time as I have bullets." He added after a moment, giving me a wry grin.

"W-what..? You're talking like you're... Mmhp!" I let out a surprised sound as he pulled me into a kiss, my head swimming I pushed him away gently, looking him in the eye.

"I.. I'm sorry. I had to do that, at least once." He stuttered weakly, pulling out his pistol. "Go. NOW!" He gave me one last look, tossing a cane at me before running around the corner. Almost immediately I heard gunshots being fired.

"WAIT! Who the heck are you?! And where'd you get a freaking walking cane from?! And why the heck did you KISS ME?!" The words came out too late, and I grabbed the cane, and, using the last of my strength, hobbled down the long, gray stone hallway he had thrown me into.

"There she is!

"Get her!"

"Damnit..." I cursed under my breath. "Not a hoping hell I'm letting myself get caught again... Especially after Kevin..." I didn't let myself finish the thought. After what had been apparently weeks, he had been my sole beacon of light. I just couldn't remember him no matter how hard I tried to... But if we hadn't known each other, why did he kiss me? Like, this might just by my own opinion, but isn't it common courtesy to get to know the person BEFORE you KISS them?!

And I'm not just talking about an old time peck-on-the-hand-in-greeting kind of kiss, I'm talking about a full on smooch-on-the-piehole kind of kiss.

So who was he?

Just then, my thoughts where interrupted by a large, heavy net falling over my head, forcing my weakened body to topple over on the ground. A man in one of those bloody lab coats appeared before me and I let out an animalistic growl, struggling pathetically in the tangle of rope.

"Who would've thought you people would be so old school? This is the oldest trick in the book." I laughed, trying to keep my voice calm.

"Who would have thought you'd be so much fucking trouble, girl?" He chided. I winced, pretending to be hurt.

"Big mouth, huh? Or should I be flattered, you use such large words in my presence?" I laughed. He scowled at me, kicking my stomach.

"Agent Tom, at your service. You'll be filling your role here earlier then expected." He chuckled.

"So, I should be honored, then, if you people go so far out of your way too make me feel like an honored guest. I even get my appointment boosted up in the calendar!" I commented, voice dry and sarcastic as I rolled my eyes. "You do realize that it's impossible to cross the dimensional rift, right?"

"Tsk. That's where you are wrong, girl. It's impossible for US to cross the rift. Now, I'll only ask once. Who and where are your friends?" He interrogated me, and I looked away, sticking my chin out. I didn't show any signs of responding to him, but my mind had kicked into gear. He seemed to read my thoughts, a smirk forming on his lips.

"You and your friends are special. You'll learn how in a minute." He roughly grabbed the net, pulling me back down the way I had come.

(Short time skip)

"Sir! The girl is ready." The apparently called Agent Tom reported, coming to attention.

"At ease." The apparently high rank officer ordered. I knew about Canadian navy ranks, but how different they were in America, I had no idea. Let alone if hey even changed. Though, clearly these guys weren't even Navy, they weren't in black. **(A/N: Sorry about this, again, I know. But I actually don't know diddly-squat about the USA military ranks. So, once again, no offense meant. I'm an ex-Canadian Sea Cadet, left after phase one. The only thing I enjoyed was seamanship and band. It was far too strict for me. Annnnd I was the Sea Cadet with a fear of sailboats... First-time trauma, don't ask...)**

"Sir." Agent Tom replied curtly, and stiffly marched out of the room.

"Jeez, where'd THAT come from..? I thought everyone here was scientists..." I muttered under my breath.

"Wrong." The officer roughly shoved me into a room with a large metal thing. "Everyone here went through a top secret boot camp."

"If it's top secret, should you have told me that?" I snickered, and he looked at me with an amused glint.

"Chances are high you'll be dead in a minute." He said, walking over to a glass window and motioning at the large machine in the room with me.

"Get introductions over with. This is my baby, Seraphina. She'll be your host, the one that'll activate your powers." He said, flicking several switches and the machine started vibrating and glowing.

"You named a machine... Seraphina..." I gave him a totally turned-off look. "But what powers?! I don't know what you're talking about! At least explain this to me!" I panicked, pressing myself against the wall.

"You're born into the wrong world. You, and all your friends. Because of that, research shows you and them alone have abilities beyond our comprehension. We need to find out how to extract that power. It shouldn't be in untrained hands such as yourself, it's an insult to those with true power!" He said, laughing evilly.

_'This guy's insane..!'_ I thought, desperately jumping out of reach from the machine, which had grown robot arms while he was talking and started reaching out to grab me. _'What can I do?! Think, Celeste, think... CRAP!'_ My thoughts were interrupted when I felt a death grip wrap around my waist, and realized the machine had grabbed me while my thoughts were distracted.

"Now watch, as I strip you of the power you should have never had!" He shouted manically, and bolts of pain started spasming through me, forcing a scream through my dry lips. Then everything suddenly stopped, the machine, if that's even what it was, let me go and I abruptly dropped to the ground in a crumpled heap, moaning.

"I still don't know what 'powers' everyone keeps telling me I have today!" I spoke through gritted teeth, clenching my fists in pain from the after effects of the bolts.

"I see no harm in telling you... Since you're going to die." He said, walking over and through the door, kneeling down next to me. The next words he said froze my blood.

"You're a dimension hopper, Celeste. Born into the wrong world, the gods gave you and your friends alone the ability to cross the dimensional rift and survive. We need that power. America will be the greatest country in the world with it! Everyone will tremble at our name!" He laughed that crazy laugh again.

"Jeez, you really are insane... It's... Not possible..." I trailed off, an unfamiliar tingling sensation going through my spine. _'W-what is this...?'_ I thought, looking at my hands, which were starting to glow a bright silver, the same shade as my hair. The scientist backed up several paces, fear coming over his face all of a sudden.

"D-DEMON! What the hell are you?!" He cried out. "Not even you could glow like that!" He backed up even farther, and I felt my body being lifted on its own. 'What's going on with me?'

"Help!" I cried out desperately, thrashing, but before I knew it, everything around me went black, I felt my body moving at a super high speed, then jerked as I came to a stop. Lights every color of the rainbow appeared around me, glimmering against he pitch black veil, before disappearing again and my body plummeted back to the ground. I let out a shrill scream as an old-fashioned town suddenly appeared, and I wasn't showing any sign of slowing down. In the brief glance I had, the town looked like an ancient Japanese capitol.

Then everything went black as I felt my body slam full force into stone, just outside the town.

**A/N: Next time, if you've seen/read/whatever Ninja Assassin, you'll meet some old friends! And no, Celeste isn't ****_the _****heroine from that sim, I'm gonna be doing a companion story among several others for this for ****_her._**** So, long story short, stay tuned, 'cause next time there'll be Ninja's, questions, mythical worlds, and a whole lot more! =3**


	2. 1: The Cursed Kitsune

**A/N: THIS IS THE FOURTH EFFIN' TIME I'M WRITING THIS A/N PAST MIDNIGHT FOR ME, so cut me some slack if the atmosphere starts to get snappy or if my grammar goes down the drain. Don't feel like playing around with it at this stage.**

**Here it is Eos, now you can't keep on pestering me at lunch for the next chapter! XD**

**But, before I let this A/N end, I just wanna explain the way the world that Celeste has found herself in is set up. However, I don't really know a thing about Japanese history, so please give me a break if I mess up something!**

**So, Japan had a time period called the "Edo" period. However, in this world, I took Japan's name and made it into an entire continent, rather then a country. And instead of Edo being a time period, it's a country in the continent of Japan with the North/South/East/West wards being the major cities in Edo. And the Vigilantes are these super cool only-rumoured-to-exist professional assassins, and Sion, Soji, Aoi and Azumi are all ninjas, which on my opinion adds to the coolness of it all. Azumi is what I call a Legacy Ninja, which is a descendant of the old gods, blessed with their power, blablabla. (Remember wut I said at the start of this _ I'm not in a colourful mood atm, and freaking AUTOCORRECT isn't helping in the slightest.) Azumi will be getting her own story, a prequel to Shadow of Betrayal, that will be following the storyline of the actual "game" so anyone that gets confused about what Azumi's so grouchy about, hang in there. I think I've gotten half of the firt paragraph done. (Cut me some slack, it's my first exam period and I have two published stories, concept art (my DA link is in my profile description :P), and other scrambled ideas going on behind the scenes here! I got a life, you know! -coughEOScough- Yaaaa I'll be importing mine and Eos' friendship from RL into this, cause it's amusing. Trust me. Awww yea, I'm going to there, and I know you'll be the first one reading this dude! One up for meh! MWAHAHAHA!) **

**... Moving on from my insane, twisted mind (Pffft, nooooo. Who said that? Not me... *whistles* .") I hope you enjoy the next chapter of my personally favorite idea yet!**

~Azumi's PoV~

I padded along the trail just outside Edo, still fuming over Willem.

'Legacy ninja... Him? Pfft..' I snapped my jaws around his imaginary throat. 'He claims that, then curses me. However the heck he did that, I'm stuck as a Kitsune until I figure this stuff out.'

It was true. The Vigilants had taken me in after I had asked them to do a job for me, and I had kept the fact I was a Legacy Ninja, a descendant of the old gods, from everyone. They had found out the hard way, where I hadn't told them, but showed them, when Willem had me and Soji at gunpoint after killing Lord Torimoto. Then he claimed he was one as well, he tried to shoot me, I tried to slit his throat with my hidden blades, and one thing led to another. Next thing I knew, I was lying in my bed at Kyokatei, Soji beside me in a panic, and I was a white Kitsune.

Let's just say, I had a lot of explaining to do.

'He'd better hope I never see his face again... Not here, not anywhere.' I paused, catching an unfamiliar scent on the breeze mixed in with blood, and started trotting over. What I saw around the next bend stopped me dead in my tracks.

There was a girl lying on a rock. She was scrawny, unhealthily pale, and her arms and legs were lying at awkward angles. I faltered the first few steps, then recovered and dashed over, turning her face towards me with my muzzle.

"Hey, girl! Can you hear me?" I asked, running my paws, claws sheathed as best they could be, across her body. She let out a weak, pain filled moan in response, and her eyes cracked open. "Hang on... I'm gonna try to put you on my back. I know a place that'll take you in, and you can heal there. Just hang in there, please." I grumbled partly to myself, lying down and using my nine tails to hoist her broken body onto my back. Over the process, the girl let out screams of protest and pain, but I simply pulled my ears back against my head as hard as I could to block out the noise. I had to get her back to Kyokatei, and soon. My newly-attained canine instincts told me she didn't have long, but it didn't take that to figure out. Anyone could tell just by looking at her.

'Surely Wakasa'll help her... He saved me. Kinshiro wouldn't reject her.. At least not in this state. They'll help. They have to help.' I wasn't sure if I was trying to convince myself of that or not.

Finally, the girl was in a comfortable position where I could easily curl my tails around her and run, without causing her any more pain. Almost without thinking, I let the power of my ancestors coarse through my veins, and, feeling like I could run faster than the wind, took off towards Kyokatei with the girl on my back.

I jumped up onto the roofs. If I ran through the streets with a girl probably close to death on my back, something told me it would attract unwanted attention.

After darting along the beams at a reckless pace with my passenger, and almost falling several times, the Red Light District finally came into view. I breathed a heavy sigh of relief, jumping to the streets and stretching out my gait, so the houses, prostitutes ever-present in the windows of select buildings, almost became a blur at the corners of my vision. At long last, the familiar brown walls of the tea house came into view. Soji and Aoi were standing by the door, talking away. Aoi's face went pale when he probably caught sight of me and the unconscious girl on my back. He turned Soji around to see my rapidly approaching figure, and muttered something to him. Soji darted inside Kyokatei, and Aoi ran up to me, immediately dropping down beside me as I came to a staggering halt. For once in my life, I was panting heavily from running.

"What happened? And who's this?" He asked, looking over the girl on my back.

"Where's... Wakasa..." I said through heavy breaths, and Aoi looked at me specifically for maybe the first time. I had my elegant head turned over my shoulder at him, light pink eyes bleary from tears that had started now that I stopped running. My necklace clung to my neck, hopelessly tangled in damp fur from sweat. It hit me I probably wasn't the prettiest ever at the moment, and Aoi's unimpressed look as he scanned me over concluded the fact. He loved styling my hair for me, and hated it whenever I messed it up. Even as a Kitsune.

"Soji's gone to get him." He said, running a hand across my neck in an attempt to detangle the Shuriken from my small mane. "You still haven't answered my question."

"I'm not sure. I was walking outside town, and stumbled across her." I explained after catching a little more of my breath, lungs still screaming in protest when I spoke. Aoi's face said he didn't believe me one bit.

"You didn't do this..?" He asked carefully, sighing. I pretended to be insulted.

"Who do you mistake me for, sir? A liar?" I asked, and immediately regretted it, the realization coming a second too late, as it always did. Aoi gave me -that- look, and turned back to the girl.

"Don't make me answer that." He muttered under his breath. "Any of us." I sighed, my head hanging a little, and I turned back so I was looking down the street.

"I've told you before, if I could've told you guys, I would've." My voice became a hoarse whisper. When I revealed who I really was, they had taken it pretty hard. Especially Soji, Aoi, and Sion, who were all Ninjas. To make a long story short, Legacy Ninjas, like myself, were more or less considered the leaders, or "Queens and Kings," of Ninjas.

"There was nothing stopping you!" He burst out suddenly. My head snapped back to him, anger flaming up in my eyes, and his reflected it.

"Everything was stopping me! It was my parents' last wish!" I snapped. "They wanted me to stay safe, to keep who I was a secret! Ever wonder why there are so few Legacy Ninjas now? There are people who want us dead! They'll do anything for our true form's head!" I growled, quickly and gently letting the girl down onto the ground. When I was satisfied she was comfortable, I spun around on my back paws. Aoi's eyes were pools of different emotions, something I had been seeing in all three of them far too much recently.

"There you have it! That's why I didn't tell you! Why I couldn't! At least not yet. I wanted to wait, until I was entirely sure I could trust you guys! But I know for sure, if I could go back in time and tell you a different way, I would!"

"Ya, well Soji was worried sick about you. He was blaming himself, and it was slowly breaking him. Over the time you were unconscious, so many thoughts were going through our heads. But you know what, the largest thing was 'why didn't she tell us? What did we do wrong?' We all knew THAT, all Ninja's do, but you could've still at least told us! Did you think we would sell you out to the hunters or something?!" He shouted, and my head dropped.

"I.. I was thinking it was right. I wanted to make my parents proud..." I sighed, but I raised my head again, looking him square in the eyes now. "And I didn't even know for sure if I had inherited EITHER of my parents' powers! I didn't even know for sure if I was a Legacy Ninja! I was waiting for the right time! They died before I was eighteen, a breach of a longstanding tradition. So there, that's why I didn't say anything! And quite frankly, I'm starting to wish none of you even found out, what with the way you're acting now!" I spun around, freezing for a second at a startled Sion, Soji, Wakasa and Kinshiro standing there. Without thinking, I narrowed my eyes, letting out a frustrated growl and stalked straight past them, jumped onto Kyokatei's roof, bounded to the other side, and jumped down.

Confident none of them were going to follow me, I took off. A few minutes away was the wall surrounding Edo's south district, with the lush forestry around it. When I reached it, I plopped myself down by the pond, staring down at my reflection in the crystal clear water.

I sighed heavily, prodding the water and watching it ripple and break up my reflection.

'My life is just like my reflection... Always remaining in tact so long as it's in sight, but always twisted and torn up...' I thought despairingly as the realization hit me. The Vigilantes were the last thing I belonged in, the last remaining people I truly cared for. Well, besides Ichika... But we've grown apart since that night...

"Azumi..?" I heard Soji's voice, and turned around to see him standing at the tree line. "You forgot about the girl, I'm guessing?" He asked gently, walking up to me and sitting cross legged beside me.

"Don't act like you have nothing too say..." I grunted, staring out across the lake. "Come on, I can take it... I'm horrible, I'm a liar, a cheat, a freak, a demon, whatever you want." I plopped my head down on my outstretched paws, and felt Soji's hand on my head, slowly working the tangles out of my fur.

"You're none of those things." His voice was honest, and I looked up into his gentle gaze, disbelieving his words even so. "Don't get me wrong, it does hurt you didn't tell us. Aoi was just letting out his frustration, and you were the thing closest to him for him to vent on." He explained, his gentle hands moving to the ever present chain around my neck. He sighed, running his fingers along the blade of the Shuriken I had as a charm.

"Ow!" He exclaimed, suddenly jerking his hand back. I half snickered at him.

"Serves you right for playing with dangerous weapons. Let me see it." I said, standing up and nuzzling his hand with my nose. Almost without hesitation, he opened his hand for me, revealing the long, thin cut on his fingertip.

"Looks just like a papercut..." I said, rolling my pupiless eyes at him. "Did my big, scary ninja get a papercut?" I teased, and he blushed slightly. 'Point for me!' I mentally cheered. Normally Soji was so calm and collected, it was hard for me to get a one-up on him.

"Very funny." He muttered under his breath. I butted his shoulder jokingly, then bowed my head and gently licked the cut. However, as I did, I felt a small tingling sensation flow down my spine and pulled back. The surprised look Soji had on his face said he had felt it too, and he looked down at his hand.

Where there should have been a thin, crimson line that showed the cut, there was skin, a completely normal color, rapidly stitching itself back together. Me and Soji both exchanged a glance. We both knew the other was thinking the same thing.

The girl.

If I could heal him, I may be able to heal her. I shook my head roughly.

"I have no clue what I did, though." I flopped my head down onto his lap, flicking my ear.

"You licked me. So, try licking her." He picked up my head encouragingly, looking into my eyes. "There's no harm in trying, is there?" He asked, and I looked at him skeptically.

"I'm not in the mood to see Aoi." I grumbled.

"And I'm sure the feeling is mutual, but it's not like you to turn a blind eye when you can help. Even if it's a 'maybe'." I sighed, knowing he was right.

"You know, I find it weird how you say things now that I'd like you to shut up. But whenever I wanted to open up before, you never would." I got up, shaking some dried leaves off my flank. He laughed, then let his forehead rest on my side for a moment.

"There are so many things I wanted to say... I just couldn't. Whenever I was around you, it was easy to talk and yet hard. It was the weirdest feeling." He spoke gently, wrapping his arms around my neck. "We'll figure out a way to turn you back. I promise." He promised, mumbling into my fur. We sat like that for a bit, before I ruffled my shoulder fur.

"We should... Probably go. That girl could be in some serious trouble." I sighed, not wanting to see Aoi. Or any of the other Vigilantes, to be honest.

"Yah... But, you know I love you." He mumbled, his voice muffled from a mouthful of white fur before pulling away.

"I know, and I love you too." I smirked, nudging him playfully. "Now come on, we've gotta go." And, letting out a short laugh, I darted off. Soji quickly scrambled to his feet, rather in gracefully for a ninja, and ran after me. Though, I decided to go easy on him, and stopped a short distance away.

When he finally caught up to me, he was short of breath; probably from the surprise as it wasn't like a ninja to get tired so easily. I laughed.

"What's wrong? Don't tell me my ninja's getting out of shape?" I teased, and he glared at me.

"No, I'm still perfectly fit. I was just surprised." Bam. Hit the nail on the head. With that thought, I let out a sheepish grin and turned to walk alongside him the rest of the way back to Kyokatei.

Aoi froze when he saw me, and I trotted past him stiffly. Soji stood back, sighing at the tension. I made a mental note to ask him what was bothering him later as it wasn't like him to show emotion so openly like that.

Wakasa came up to me, nodding in greeting.

"Where's the girl?" I asked, my voice void of any surfacing emotions and I got straight to the point.

"Main room." He replied, and I saw him look at Soji questioningly, who grinned, shaking his head. I let out a soft snort, trotting past Wakasa and into the room, where the girl was lying unconscious on a table in the corner.

'Thankfully no one's here...' I thought to myself as I nimbly bounced up next to her. Kyokatei was a well known tea house in the South Wards Red Light District, so it was often filled with people and what with me being in my current condition, it could sure get ugly if I was seen inside Kyokatei at all. Even though people were getting used to seeing a giant, white five tailed fox in the streets, they didn't want one where they were having a meal. Understandably, though, it would just be a huge setback in our current situation.

Ignoring Wakasa's curious staring, I started licking her face, and before long she let out a small moan, twisting her head to the side in protest.

~Celeste's PoV~

The first thing that registered in my mind was drool covering my face, and I instinctively twisted my head to the side, trying to get away from whatever it was that was licking me. However, I froze when a jolt of pain ran through my neck, going down my spine. After that, memories of what had transpired before I supposedly blacked out started running through my head, and I sat bolt upright, hearing a small yelp of surprise that I assumed came from whatever was licking me.

Only to collapse back down on the bed again, pain stabbing it's way through me. Slowly, I blinked open my eyes, clutching my head. Right after my vision focused though, I immediately wished someone would hit my head with a rock so I could fall back into the beautiful, painless pit of sleep.

Before me stood a white, five tailed fox with rosey, pupilless eyes.

**A/N: Stay tuned for teenage girl freak outs and ninjas! n.n**


	3. 2: Edo? Ninjas! Wait--- HUNTERS!

**A/N: This chapter was so much fun! I love Celeste's reaction... Maybe just 'cause she's based off of me, but still. It's awesome, and hope you guys like it! I feel like it's a lot shorter than the others, buuuut it was a perfect place to cut off.**

**And, be sure to check out my DeviantArt account for some artwork I do for both Shadow of Betrayal and Celestial Wings. It's one of many reasons updates are coming slower. The two biggest being school (NO DUH) and something that my innies all know and are bring a big help with. Link's in the description if you want, because I do too much self-advertising... Heh... Heh...**

**Well, I'm trying to get the length of my A/Ns under control so.. Hope you guys all enjoy and I'll see ya in the next update! =3 **

~Celeste's PoV~

"GAH! What in the...?!" I immediately jumped back, pressing against the wall of the building I was in. In front of me was a large, white fox. But not just any fox, this one had multiple tails. Five, to be exact.

"She's awake." I heard a voice that sounded like it came from it, but it's mouth didn't move. And, for that matter, foxes couldn't talk. Everyone knew that.

"We can see that, Azumi." A man with green hair answered, slowly coming over and kneeling down next to me. "Are you alright, kid?" He asked. I wasn't sure whether or not I could trust these guys or not quite yet though, so I remained silent.

"Kinshiro, she's terrified. Don't make it worse." The voice from before came up again.

"Azumi, that's probably your fault. We don't know who she is or where she came from." The green haired man, I'm guessing he was called Kinshiro, replied dryly, looking over at the fox.

"Yes, but waking up and having the first thing you see.. Well, you guys, can be startling. I speak from experience."

"Ok, I gotta be dreaming, here..." I broke my silence, looking around. "Where am I..?" No matter how hard I tried, all my memories were a little hazy. Maybe with some clarification...

"You're in Edo's South Ward. Azumi here found you close to death just outside the town walls this morning." A new voice pipped up, and I looked over to who had spoken. Another man, this one with purple hair and eyes, had been the one. "Any chance you remember what happened to you?"

"Sion, careful what you say." Kinshiro spoke again, in a harsher tone.

"Yeah, I know Kinshiro. But we have to know, and the only way that'll happen is if she trusts us." Trusts us... Trust me... Those words morphed into a phrase, a the face of a boy no older then eighteen came into my mind.

"Kevin..." The words barely escaped my lips, and after that, image after image came popping up in pitch perfect clarity. "Ok, I must be going insane. Sorry, thanks a lot for everything, but I'll be going now. I have to get back home, or there'll be trouble." I quickly got to my feet, trying to steer my way over to the door, but Azumi, who was the fox I'm assuming, stepped in my path.

"I couldn't leave, neither can you. Not without some answers." She said, and now that I saw her with a clearer, at least partly, mind I noticed the pink blaze on her side and the chain around her neck, and that only served to freak me out further.

"Ok, listen. I have no clue who any of you are or where the heck I am. I wake up and the first thing I see is a multi-tailed fox-"

"Kitsune." Azumi corrected.

"Kitsune, then. Which is even creepier, because they're supposed to be a mythical! The last thing that I remember was that the FBI had me captured, Kevin died, and a giant robot thing. Then I started glowing and floating, and lost consciousness. So there, happy?" I ranted on, pacing back and forth. "There's your answer, now I must be going or there's going to be big trouble, as I've already said." I ducked to the side, slipping past Azumi before she could react and walked out the door. Strangely, though, she didn't make a move to stop me again but rather stayed frozen in place.

"Don't go out there."

"I have to get back to my home. So, sorry, but I'm going." I opened the door, ready to step outside, but before I could even lay a foot on the dirt a crossbow bolt appeared directly above my head, embedded in the wooden door. "GAH!" I ducked down in surprise, totally caught off guard.

"Idiot! Get down, and stay down!" I felt something heavy jump on me, forcing my legs to give out and I crumpled underneath a shadow. I felt claws in my shoulders and knew it was Azumi who had pushed me down. "I told you guys this would happen!" She turned around just long enough to glare at each of the men inside, who looked like they were ready to fight and knew how to go about beating somebody to a pulp. I inwardly gulped.

_'Just who are these people..? What have I gotten myself into this time...' _I thought, my heart almost freezing when another bolt appeared in the dirt, this time no closer then a few centimetres from my neck. _'Using crossbows are easier then bows... Why does it have to be that..? At least they aren't snipers.' _If they were, none of us would have a chance. Don't get me wrong, I don't exactly sympathize with kidnappers, but they supposedly saved my life and I didn't want them to die. At least, not like this.

"What do you mean, Azumi?" A blue-haired man spoke up this time, his voice tinged with confusion.

"If it got out about who I was... I've told you, there are people who want my head hanging on a plaque. There's an entire black market organization for it, actually." I choked hard when I heard that.

"I haven't heard anything about that." Sion, the purple haired guy, said through gritted teeth.

"Not many have! Have you forgotten the fact that Legacy ninja are supposed to be long dead?! They're just as secretive as we are." She growled. "I'll be back. Gotta deal with some _old friends._"

"Hold on a minute. You aren't going out there alone." A black-haired guy this time, he had two swords hanging off his belt, spoke. Azumi turned back to look at him with a withering gaze.

"They're here for me. I know how to fight, Soji. I'm no damsel in distress with or without my training, even in this form."

"Yes, but..." Soji seemed torn, I could see the conflict in his eyes, and I realized then these guys weren't people to mess around with.

"Here's an idea. Azumi goes, you guys tail her. If she gets into serious trouble, jump in." Kinshiro spoke up, holding up his hand and everyone went silent. Azumi shot him a grateful look.

"Sounds fine to me." She let out an eager bark, her tails wagging a little. "I'll be sure to make it entertaining for you guys." And before anyone could object, she bolted straight outside.

_'These people are insane.'_

~Azumi's PoV~

Before any of the other Vigilantes could object to Kinshiro's idea, I turned tail and ran. Literally. Almost immediately my sharpened hearing picked up the _SLAM _of several crossbow triggers and strings, and jumped up high in the air. Probably half a dozen bolts appeared in the ground where I had been mere seconds ago.

"There she is!" A male voice called out, holding a tone of authority and several people, fully armoured and armed with a wide variety of weapons came out of the shadows.

"Got you now, abomination. Go back to hell." He spoke, dropping his crossbow and unsheathing his katana, swinging at me with inhuman speed.

"I could say the same thing to you." I let my voice ring out calmly, ignoring the blood rushing in my ears as I ducked his onslaught of attacks. "Good to know you guys haven't gotten rusty, but sadly, I'll be cutting this happy reunion short." I gave him a wolfish smirk, leaping above him and landing neatly on the ground, lunging at the nearest guys' throat. We bowled over each other, ensuring I ended up on top after a couple rolls and quickly checking he wouldn't be getting up again anytime soon, took off down an alleyway. I heard shouts coming from behind me, and the clang of bolts hitting a buildings stone wall and I skidded to the side, narrowly avoiding colliding with the wall. _'But, sadly, I have.' _I replied to myself. _It's been too long since I've had a good game of chase the ninja.'_

Truth be told, I knew exactly how to kill these guys in a few seconds short, but I wanted to draw it out for the sake of the other Vigilantes. I wanted, no, _needed _them to believe me about why I didn't tell them about who I really was. Though, I had dropped hints that I knew how to fight.

"Come on, slowpokes!" My voice rose an octave from the adrenaline, enjoying the feeling of excitement. I felt a familiar dark pulse inside me, and quickly tried desperately to push it back down. _'If I lose control in this fight, they'll never trust me again...' _

I saw from the corner of my eye six people silently but quickly running along the rooftops and mentally grinned. Despite how much I may worry, they still cared. As far as I knew, at _least _Soji, Sion and Aoi were still willing to die for me... Not that I would ask them to, of course. I rather enjoyed having them all alive and in one piece.

But a seventh person was sprinting along after them, as I just noticed, desperately trying to keep up. My first thought would be to think it was Kinshiro, but I knew none of them would have let him leave Kyokatei, and that left only one person.

_'The girl..!'_ When that realization struck me, I felt an overwhelming urge to jump up after them and knock them silly for being so stupid. _'What were they thinking, letting her come along?! She's still recovering! But it looks like she knows what she's doing up there, thankfully...' _

"There she is! After her, you idiots!" I heard the yelling start up again not far behind me and redoubled my speed, letting out a small Yelp of surprise when a crossbow bolt clanged into the wall, no more than a few centimetres above my ear tips.

"Come on, slowpokes. I'm getting bored over here!" I skidded to a stop, whirling around on my hind legs. "You're even rustler then I thought you were, if I'm so far ahead of you!" I snickered, whirling back around and bolting down a spin off alley.

_'If I can lose them in here, then- DANGIT! Dead end!' _No more than ten strides down, the large wall loomed up in front of me and I skidded to a stop, just barely missing a full on collision with the lower, and hardest, bricks.

"This is bad..." I muttered under my breath, turning around to go back the way I had come when a dozen or so men walked out of the shadows.

"Us? Getting rusty? I'll say it again, Legacy, we aren't the ones getting rusty." He chuckled dangerously, pulling his crossbow into firing position. I tensed my legs, slowly lowering my body.

"Take your shot, I dare you." I growled threateningly, my tails slowly tracing lines in the dirt. "You won't hit me, hunter."

"Awwww, you don't remember us? That's too bad. We had such great games of tag just a few years ago. Too bad we thought you had died with your parents that night, or you would have a fresh memory of our faces." He smirked. I saw his finger tighten around the trigger, closed my eyes, and jumped. Just like after I had exited Kyokatei, I heard the solid _SMACK _of the bolts razorsharp tips slamming into the dirt. I landed a couple meters from where I had stood and let out a small sigh of relief, looking back over my shoulder at the wooden shaft. _'That would've hurt... A lot.'_

I quickly turned back towards him, my fathers voice ringing in my head.

"_Azumi, remember to never take your eyes off of your opponent. Doing so gives them an automatic opening to strike, and you won't know when to dodge."_

_'I know, dad...' _I instinctively answered the voice, and a wave of sadness rushed over me. Both my parents had been murdered by Lord Tori several months back, and the only reason I had survived was because my mother had hidden me under the floorboards just before Tori had come storming into our house.

"You guys..!" My lungs jumped in the normally even pattern they had developed, and I bared my sharpened canines. "I thought you were dead! The reports-"

"The reports were fake. Every one of them, all to lead you fools on a wild goose chase!" He laughed hysterically, causing me to shrink back against the wall slightly.

"The only way they could have been fake was if you intercepted the messengers!"

"Yeah, so what if we did? Death isn't something new to you, Legacy. You've dealt with it firsthand, in more ways than one." He smirked, that crazy look still in his eyes.

"They were innocent men! Doubtedly when knowing what they were transporting! You had no right to just kill them!" I growled, this time lunging toward his throat. A heartbeat before we collided, I realized I had misjudged the jump and struck out my paw, feeling my claws grip his shirt and I put my weight down on his shoulder so he fell on his back, solidly hitting the dirt.

"You... You know, it's kind of ironic how an assassin would be lecturing me about killing." His voice sounded breathless, winded from the impact. His lackeys readied their crossbows again, but now I felt more in control. And whether that gave me extra stupidity or bravery, I would never know. It was probably a mix of the two, but I could care less. Whatever it was helped me out. I rebounded using the momentum from my last lunge onto one of the lackeys, throwing him against the wall and out cold before whipping around and barreling into another.

"Children shouldn't be playing with sharp tools like that." I sneered at him, knocking away his crossbow and snapping at his throat, this time ensuring I didn't miss.

Before long there were several men scattered at my paws, all either groaning or ominously still. Turning back to the leader, whom I know remembered was called Kayarn **(A/N:Kay-yarn)**, I felt a red-hot fire building inside my stomach and grinned in satisfaction. I may not be able to fully control my powers yet, but they knew when I could use them and came willingly.

"Fire spirits of ages long past, come to me in my hour of need. I summon thee!" I spoke in a trance-like state, a pa of my mind unsure of what I should expect, the other part cheering in excitement. To my surprise a bright red flame burst out through my paws and surrounded my body in an ethereal golden flame. I half expected to feel it burning through my skin, but rather it felt more like I was wrapped in a warm blanket on a cold winters night.

_'Howl!' _My subconscious instincts screamed at me, and following them blindly I let out a shrill, piercing howl and felt a large impact of wind, dirt and blood collide against me, pushing me back several meters. I saw Kayarns body, or at least I thought it was. My vision was starting to...

The last thing I remember was the ground rushing up to meet me.

~Celeste's PoV~

I wasn't sure what to say, or to think. These guys had seemed insane at first but, after watching that... Kitsune, Azumi, it would be even crazier _not _to believe them. I wasn't sure if I've ever seen anything quite like it before... Scratch that, I haven't.

She had suddenly burst into flame and exploded. I had had to look away in order to shield my eyes from the flying debris, but I know what I had just seen. Strangest thing is, when the smoke cleared, she was still alive, or at least I think. I hope. She was lying on the ground, but even from the distance I was at, I saw the jagged rise and fall of her chest.

"So... Who'd you people say you were exactly..?"


End file.
